Today Wreckage Of Ship That Fired First American Shots Of WWII Discovered

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Navigea Ltd. R/V Petrel

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Ward.

December 7th, 1941 is a day that will live in infamy as America was plunged into World War II. The USS Ward spotted a Japanese midget sub, destroyed it radioed into the base at Pearl Harbor only to have these words fall on deaf ears. Less than an hour later the Imperial Japanese Navy would commence their attack on Pearl Harbor, catching the American Navy off guard.

The USS Ward has often been credited with firing the first American shot of WWII, while some doubted the existence of the midget subs their existence was proven in an expedition brought by National Geographic. Sadly the USS Ward would meet its fate after suffering a kamikaze attack from a Japanese submarine and was lost, until now.

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Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen is no stranger to discovering shipwrecks and the discovery of the USS Ward is the latest ship added to his list. It is remarkable that a ship that had such a pivotal role in Pearl Harbor was discovered on this date. The operation did not give the exact location details of the sunken destroyer but they have released the footage. You can see the first glimpses of the legendary warship in this clip.